Railfan Technology > cannon g30 info needed

I am pretty sure I am going to get a cannon g30 for taking my train videos. if anybody has any feedback or info regarding this video camera I'd like to hear it.

thanks for any info.......

66

Mosey on over to www.dpreview.com. There are plenty gearheads there that will be more than pleased to give you their opinions. Use the search feature. THEN ask. Remember---gearheads.

DPReview will also have a good review of it. Look into PreRoll option which continually records 3 seconds of video when in standby. When you hit Record, it simply continues past the 3 seconds, with them included. Has saved me a few times... if the option is enabled.

I've looked all over that website and cant find the video camera section/reviews......

66

Oh, you know you're right; dpreview did not actually review that camcorder. My bad. So I did a simple search in Google, and while I avoided websites that sell the item (Amazon, BHPhotovideo), I got a few dedicated review sites:

http://camcorders.reviewed.com/content/canon-vixia-hf-g30-camcorder-review

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2428416,00.asp

However, you can still get some good info by reading the customer comments on both Amazon and BHPhotovideo. I'd suggest BHPhotovideo first, as there tends to be more professionals there.

Also note the price has come down since those reviews, both of which were late 2013.

Hope that helps.

thanks for the info norm. very much appreciated.....

66

The Canon G30 has a large 1/2.8" sensor, the AVCHD video format for image quality, a 20X zoom, a mic input and a tiltable viewfinder so you can use it in bright sun.

The other camera in the neighborhood is the Sony HDR-CX900 Full HD Handycam Camcorder. It is more expensive and has a shorter zooms range. On the plus side however, the sensor is a very big 1' and coupled with the very high quality Zeiss zoom, it will give you even better image quality.

People are often dazzled by zooms with big x factors. The higher the number, the better right? Well, if what you are after is high quality images, usually no.

You see, if the sensor is very small, you can easily design a big x number zoom for it. But as the sensor gets bigger, it costs more to make a bigger lens. So in order to keep the image quality up and the cost reasonable, the x factor goes down.

If it were me, HDR-CX900 looks might fine on paper. I would like the bigger sensor, and the zoom even if it is only 12x because I know what I will get is choice image quality. If I want more reach at the long end, I'd get a tele conversion lens to put on for those time I need it.

Don't get me wrong, the Canon G30 is excellent, and very user friendly. It will give you years of satisfaction and excellent video.

Dennis Livesey
New York, NY

thanks dennis. great info. tough choice.......

66

http://camcorders.reviewed.com/content/canon-vixia-hf-g30-camcorder-review

If course if you can afford it, UHD (4K) is the way to go.